Cleaning: Secret Spiritual Weapon

I’ve always had resistance to cleaning, for a variety of reasons. Traditional gender roles irk me, for one. Personal stuff, for another. Also, I like to begin projects, not clean up after them. I’m a creator, not a maintainer!

But lately, I have realized something. The Universe has been sending me messages in a variety of ways. A myriad of different contexts and situations have been presented to me, and with a tiny, unheard CLICK, it finally came into focus for me.

Cleaning is how you finish things, physically, emotionally and mentally. It’s the last step in the processing of an experience.

A clean and organized life sets the stage for happiness and peace.

From a warrior’s perspective, having your life in order means that you’re ready to die at any time.

Being ready to die doesn’t mean that you’re fatalistic. It means that you’re at peace with your past.  It means that you’re living in the present. It means that you’re fulfilling obligations and living your dreams. It means that you’ve lived every day to the best of your ability. Whether or not you are a physical warrior or a spiritual one, the same principles hold true.

And doesn’t that sound a lot like the goals of the Yogic path, or the Buddhist path, or any number of spiritual traditions?

But back to cleaning. I’m using the term ‘cleaning’ broadly: it’s not just sweeping, dusting and vacuuming your home. But also organizing. Decluttering. Dealing with emotional issues. Doing file maintenance on your computer. Getting tax or business records in order. Paring down your email inbox. Cleaning out voicemails. Doing estate planning. Spiffing up your vehicle. And once you’ve got it clean, why not make it beautiful?

All the extra energy that we expend when we can’t find something, don’t have the needed supplies or have to work around piles of junk…we now have available to me to move FORWARD. To meditate, to create, to dance, to worship, to explore, to…do everything you have been putting off because the miasma of things undone and things festering and things procrastinated about were keeping you paralyzed!

Perhaps even more important than that, getting your affairs in order is a profound act of self-love. Every time you file a record, fill a vase with flowers, or bring out the good tablecloth just because it makes you smile…you are showing yourself and the world that you are worthy. You deserve to be happy, peaceful and prosperous.

How did it take me so long to see this? Now I understand why my sensei was so meticulous. Why there were always a few extra touches at the dojang.

It could be that my sensei’s inner world was orderly, so his outer world reflected that. It could be that he knew that by keeping the outer world orderly, it gave him the space and support to deal with his inner world. Or maybe he knew that the seemingly prosaic act of cleaning is a highly spiritual one. Scratch that. Probably all of the above, knowing my sensei.

I have been cleaning, decluttering and organizing like mad for the last few weeks. Getting the energy flowing again. Throwing off the funk of winter. You know what? It feels AMAZING!

A Snowy Winter's Hike

Snow doesn't come often in the Carolinas, but this year we have been blessed. The first snow that came, I eagerly Jeeped down the road to my favorite trail. It was a lovely day, quiet with that special hush that only comes with thick snow. 

I felt the years melt away with each squeaky step. My cheeks grew flushed and my eyes got as wide as a child's. Look, deer tracks! And here, the way the snow makes puffy little mounds on each holly leaf! And there, a perfect heart shape in the snow! How am I to endure all this beauty?

And so it began. Photo snapping led to poetry. The rhythm of our steps would slow and stop as I would get inspired over and over to write just one more haiku. My partner ranged far ahead at times, and each time I caught up to him I would cheerily shout "I wrote another one, wanna hear?"

On such a day, I feel my connection to the Earth so strongly that it leaks out in poems, spontaneous scampers and a radiance that surely must be visible. I take such joy in walking the same trail month after month, to see the passing of the seasons as they should be seen: close-up and with an appreciation for the symphony of minute changes that heralds each one's passing.

This is ritual in its purest form: no-form. Walking in snow, to me, is a sure path to altered consciousness, to Divine communion, to meditation. One's steps are naturally slow, giving rise to present-moment awareness. 

Here is one of the haiku written on that hike:

following the deer

into quiet snowy woods

here I am at peace

by Jan Nerone